Shoe sewing machine



Nov. 12, 1946. c. w. BAKER SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 12 1946. c. w. BAKER 2,410,859

SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE SEWING MACHINE Application August 29, 1944, Serial No. 551,669

13 Claims.

The present invention relates primarily to improvements in shoe sewing machines constructed and arranged to sew the upper to the sole of a shoe which is unsupported on a last and, more particularly in some aspects, to machines of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent to Edward Quinn No. 2,142,966, granted January 3, 1939, and No. 2,332,599, granted October 26, 1943, and United States Letters Patent to Edward Quinn and Alfred E. Morrill N 0. 2,198,391, granted April 23, 1940..

The machines of these patents have stitch forming devices including a straight hook needle movable to feed the work, and a straight awl acting to form a needle receiving perforation in the work,- the needle and awl being arranged with their points directed toward each other and the work being clamped between a work support and presser foot during penetration and retraction of the needle and awl. Before each feeding movement of thework starts, the presser foot is actuated to relieve its clamping pressure on the work and the work is supported principally by the needle.

A machine of the type disclosed in the abovementioned patents is intended'to operate upon a turn shoe or slipper in which the upper has previously been attached temporarily to the sole edge having a shoulder undercut with a stitch receiving groove. The machine applies permanent fastenings to the parts, comprising a row of stitches passing through the upper and the substance of the sole between the shoulder in the sole edge and a stitch receiving channel spaced uniformly from the sole edge, the needle entering and emerging from the same side of the sole. The machine i provided also with a U-shaped horn of relatively light, resilient construction. The horn entersthe ankleuopening of the shoe being operated upon and presses the sole'laterally against the stitch forming and clamping members to retain the shouldered edgeand channel of the sole in proper sewing position while the needle and awl operate.

In a sewing machine having stitch forming devices comprising straight work penetrating instruments, the flexibility of the penetratin in struments is greater than in a curved needle type of machine and the penetrating instruments are subject to greater flexure, particularly when lateral pressure is applied to the work. 1 With a straight needle machine equipped with a horn of the type referred to for imparting lateral pressure to the work, it is difficult to provide highspeed operating mechanism for the horn wh ch will be efiective in applying pressure to the work during stitch formation and in relieving the pressure to prevent needle flexure during work feed. There is a likelihood that the pressure of r" the horn on the work will be retained during the feed if insuflicient motion is imparted by the operating mechanism, the resiliency of the horn requiring an excessive amount of motion before the pressure is fully relieved. Where insuflicient motion to compensate for the resiliency of the horn is imparted, the pressure of the horn against the work will be increased and decreased during each sewing cycle without fully relieving the pressure. If sufficient motion is imparted to the horn mechanism, it may be a source of such excessive viresult, the work will become displaced from operating position and, after the needle is withdrawn, it will re-enter the Work at a position out of line with the stitch previously inserted. Even tually, after a series of sewing cycles, objection- 2 able work displacement will 'occur unless the operator forcibly restores the work to proper position in the machine. Furthermore, the horn requires a supporting carrier, which adds further factors of resiliency and lost motion in the horn mechanism, particularly where light-weight construction is essential from the standpoint of rapidity of operation and freedom from excessive vibration. In the patented machines, the supporting carrier for the horn extends downwardly from the upper portion of the machine and tends to obscure the operators line of vision of the work. Under some circumstances, such a downwardly extending carrier also may interfere with proper manipulation of the work as the sewing operation progresses.

Due to the resiliency of the horn, itscarrier and actuating mechanism of the patented machines, it is difiicult to adjust the actuating mechanism for a full release of the pressure of the horn on a thick sole and to provide adequate pressure for a thin, fragile sole, since the movement required to take up the resiliency may be greater than required in imparting a pressurereleasing movement to the horn.- If adjustments for athin-sole are madeand sole material ofincreased thickness is operated upon, the pressure of the horn against the sole will beexcessive and, as a result, the sole will be indented or cut by the work engaging surfaces of the presser foot and work support, which latter is formed with narrow channel entering edges. When the work is indented or cut, the feeding movements are impeded by the resistance offered in disengaging the indentations from the edges of the work support. If adjustments are made for a thick sole, the horn pressure on a thin fragile sole will be too light and the channel in the sole may become displaced from the work support during formation of a stitch at a time when the sole should be subjected to a secure clamping pressure.

Furthermore, the straight needle of the patented machines does not lend itself to precisely uniform lengths of stitches during sewing operations where the feeding movements are impeded in any degree. The straight needle which imparts the feeding movement to the work may become flexed excessively by the feed impeding pressure of the horn on a thick sole as a result of incomplete release when the mechanism has been set for a relatively thin sole. This condition is aggravated by the resistance to work feed offered as a result of Work indentation. As a means for avoiding displacement of a relatively thin fragile sole from between the work support and presser foot of the patented machines while the clamping pressure of the presser foot is released, there is disclosed in the Quinn Patent No. 2,332,599, a set of movable work engaging elements on the work and presser foot acting to guide the sole yieldingly and to prevent the edges of the work support from becoming disengaged from the channel.

To prevent undesirable indentation of the sole, the horn of the patented machines is actuated with a relatively light clamping pressure during each sewing cycle at the end of each feeding movement and is locked in position during stitch formation to prevent the sole from being disengaged from between the work support and presser foot. The mechanism for locking and unlocking the horn at the proper times during each sewing cycle adds to the expense of manufacture and upkeep of the machine and increases the likelihood of disarrangement. Accordingly, a greater degree of skill and ability must be exercised by the operator than when such mechanism is not employed.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a simple and effective machine for performing the same type of work as that accomplished with the machines of the above-identified patents in which the difficulties arising from flexibility of the work penetrating instruments, the horn, its carrier and actuating mechanism are largely avoided and in which a reliable feeding movement with an unobstructed view of the work may be obtained during operation of the machine without frequent and complex adjustments or the provision of complicated horn or other operating mechanisms.

In accordance with these and other objects, the present invention is illustrated as embodied in a machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a turn shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a presser foot acting against the upper at the edge of the sole to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe being operated upon and engaging the inner surface of the sole, and stitch forming devices including one or more curved work penetrating instruments acting to su port the sole in position against the thrust of the horn while the sole is unclamped, the horn acting to press the sole yieldingly throughout each sewing cycle toward the center of curvature of the work penetrating instruments with a uniform pressure. Accordingly the necessity of complicated horn locking and actuating mechanisms such as are employed in the patented machines are avoided. Such a construction is rendered possible when the work penetrating instruments comprise a curved awl and needle because of the inherent rigidity of said work penetrating instruments against flexure toward their center of curvature. The supporting members for the work penetrating instruments also are less flexible than the corresponding parts in a straight needle machine so that while the clamping pressure of the presser foot and work support on the shoe is released the shoe will be retained in proper sewing position by one only of the work penetrating instruments engaging the shoe.

In the illustrated form of the present machine, the mechanism for supporting and actuating the horn includes a carrier on which the horn is mounted for swinging movement and a spring acting on the carrier to urge the sole with a continuous yielding pressure in the desired direction, no other mechanisms being required for actuating the horn during sewing operations to avoid displacement while the shoe is unclamped. Preferably the horn is of U-shape with one arm of sufficient length to enter the extremity of the toe in the largest size of shoe intended to be operated upon, and with the other arm of the horn mounted for swinging movement on the carrier about an axis disposed radially of the needle path. The carrier also is U-shaped with its horn supporting arm of sufficient length to provide clearance space for the heel end of the largest size of shoeoperated upon. As a simple means for mounting the carrier on the machine so that it may move the horn yieldingly toward the sole of the shoe, the carrier has a pivot on the frame of the machine extending substantially parallel to the line of feed. Mechanism also is provided in the illustrated form of this feature for actuating the carrier at the end of a seam to move the horn away from the sole of the shoe so that the shoe may readily be removed from the machine and a new shoe substituted.

It is the usual practice in sewing. the inseams of turn shoes to employ a curved hook needle chain stitch machine so arranged as to lay the double threads of the chain against the upper of the shoe, thus reinforcing the upper and providing a form of padding or filling for the bend in the upper after the shoe is turned inside out. The common form of machine in which the present invention is embodied, as hereinafter further explained, is constructed to insert a lockstitch seam with but a single thread laid against each shoe part.

A further object of the invention, accordingly, is to provide a novel improved sewing machine of the type referred to for laying a plurality of threads in a lockstitch seam against that portion of a turn shoe upper which is supported by the edge of a shoe sole according to accepted turn shoe practice while at the same time retaining to full advantage the strength and durability of the lockstitch seam. To provide suitable reinforcement for the upper, according to a feature of the invention. therefore, two parallel lengths of locking. thread are led into the seam and laid against the upper at the edge of the sole, thereby providing the same reinforcement to the upper s when sewed in a chain stitch machine. In

. the embodiment of this feature, th thread case within which the locking thread supply is enclosed is provided with two rotating thread packages from which parallel lengths of locking thread are directed against the exposed surface of the upper, the packages being arranged to rotate in opposite directions during withdrawal of thread so that the rotation of one package will not slacken or interfere with the tension required to withdraw thread from the other package. In this way, any possibility of entanglement of locking threads within the thread case or of irregular formation of stitches is avoided in the completed seam from this cause.

Other features of the invention consist of the devices, combinations, arrangements and parts hereinafter described and claimed which, together with the advantages to be obtained, will readily be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig, 1 is a, view in front elevation of a curved hook needle l-ockstitch shoe sewing machine embodying the present invention, only so much of the machine being illustrated as is necessary for a complete disclosure of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail side sectional view on an enlarged scale of the shuttle, locking thread case and double locking thread supply within the thread case employed in the machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken along the line III-1II of Fig. 2, illustrating. the thread case constructions Fig. 4 is a view in right side elevation and partly in section, of the machine of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective detail View on an enlarged scale, illustrating the method of operation of the stitch forming and work clamping devices, particularly during the beginning of the feeding movement of the awl;

Fig. 6 is a similar view, illustrating the positions of certain of the parts at the end of the feeding movement; and

Fig. 7 is a detail View, partly in section and on a further enlarged scale, of a portion of a sewed shoe after turning it inside out.

The sewing machine disclosed in thedrawings has a work support consisting of two relatively movable, relatively thin, wedge-shaped channel engaging members I0 and 12 the latter of which is fixed to the frame of the machine, a curved hook needle [4, a curved awl 56, a work clamping presser foot I 8 having a pair of nibs on its work engaging surface to insure proper clamping action along the outer shouldered edg of a sole in a slipper turn type of shoe, and a rotary needle loop-taking shuttle 20 within which is disposed a locking thread case 22. The machine is substantially the same, except as hereinafter described, as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,169,909, granted February 1, 1916, upon an application of Fred Ashworth, and No. 2,271,611, granted February 3, 1942, upon an application of Fred Ashworth and Carl F. Whitaker, the needle and awl being, mounted for oscillation upon a supporting stud 24, closeto the sewing point, and the presser foot l8 being mounted for work clamping movement on a pivot 26. The curvature of the needle and awl is concentric with the axis of the stud 24 so that they present their greatest rigidity and resistance to flexure along a line extending radially toward the axis of stud 24. The work is fed in the machine while the awl engages the work and the work clamping pressure of the presser foot is relieved, the work being supported in sewing po: sition during this interval of each sewing cycle principally by the awl. To assist in the'feeding movement of the work the work support member HI which engages the channel in the sole in advance of the awl moves with the awl in the line of the seam while the member I2 remains stationary. During back feeding movements of the awl the member it] opens the channel for the awl.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, of the drawings, the turn shoe illustrated as being operated upon comprises an upper 28, cut to the proper size to form the shoe without excess of material and a sole 30 having a stitch receiving channel 32 and a shouldered edge 34 molded to provide a groove opposite thebase of the channel within which the nibs on the presser foot project. The upper is temporarily attached to the shouldered edge 34 by cement and before the machine is started into operation the channel 32 of the sole is engaged with the support members In and I2 and the presser foot compresses the substance of the sole and clamps the upper and sole in sewing position. When the machine is started the awl first enters the channel and emerges from the same side of the sole through the surface of the shoulder 34 and through the upper, as illustrated in Fig. 5. As soon as the awl has penetrated the parts of the shoe, the presser foot releases its clamping pressure on the upper, and the awl is given a feeding movement to the position of Fig. 6, carrying the awl perforation in the sole and upper into line with the needle. Thereafter, the needle enters the upper along the shoulder 34 and emerges from the channel 32 to receive a loop of thread. Upon retraction of the needle, the needle loop is drawn through the work and is carried about the thread case by the shuttle in the usual way. After being drawn from the shuttle, the needle loop is contracted by a take-up 39 until the locking threads are drawn into engagement with the outer surface of the upper in the manner illustrated, the sole being clamped and supported by the work support and presser foot and maintained in sewing position by a horn, as will be further explained.

As has been stated, the means to press the sole against the work support members it! and I2 and firmly into the space between the work support and presser foot at a position to be engaged properly by the stitch forming deviceswhile the parts are clamped by the presser foot, the machine is equipped with the shoe entering horn indicated at 36, extending through the ankle opening of the shoe upper and bearing against the inner surface of the sole with a uniform yielding pressure at all times during sewing operations. The horn 36 is roughly of U shape with one arm of greater length than the depth of the largest size of shoe to be operated upon from the ankle opening to the extremity of the toe. The other arm of the horn has an integral stud 38 supported in a bearing 48 the axis of which is disposed radially of the needle path. The bearing 40 is adjustably secured in a standard d2 having a downwardly extending cylindrical lug clamped by a screw 43 within a socket 44 in one arm of a U-shaped carrier 45, the other arm of which is pivoted at 48 to the machine frame for swinging movement about an axis extending parallel to the seam line. When the screw 43 is loosened the standard 40 may be raised, lowered or swung within the socket to right orleft to bring the point of engagement 7 of the horn and shoe sole into line with the sewin point.

The carrier 46 is formed with a sufficiently long U bend beneath the horn stud 38 to provide a clearance space for the heel end of the largest size of shoe when the sole engaging'end of the horn extends within the toe of the shoe. The arrangement is such that unobstructed rotation of the shoe and horn may take place about the stud 38 without interference and the carrier being disposed beneath the horn stud 38 in no way obscures the shoe or the point of operation from easy visibility.

To urge the horn yieldingly in a radial direction toward the center of curvature of the awl and needle, the carrier 46 is acted upon at a location below the pivot 48 by a compression spring 50 supported on a post 52 projecting from a slotted block 54 through the slot of which pass a pair of clamp screws 56 threaded into the machine frame. Loosening the clamp screws 56 enables the position of the block 54 to be changed and the yielding force of the spring 58 to be varied.

No mechanism in addition to the spring 55 is employed for actuating the horn toward the work support and presser foot or for locking the horn during sewing operations. The horn is maintained with a uniform yielding pressure while each stitch is being formed as well as during feed of the sole and upper. The construction ofthe horn and its carrier is such as to provide a substantial degree of resiliency which, together with the resiliency of the spring 51), enables the work engaging end of the horn to move toward and from the work support as the thickness of the sole varies without a substantial chang in the intensity of the pressure. The rigidity of the work support, presser foot, needle and awl is so much greater in a curved needle type of machine than in a straight needle machine that the problem of maintaining a shoe in sewing position during sewing is not troublesome. As a further means to prevent displacement of the upper or upper and lining of a shoe in advance of the point of operation in the machines of the patents above identified, they are provided with an upper guard acting opposite the sewing point. Due to the greater rigidity of the work clamping and penetrating instruments in a curved needle machine,

successful sewing operations may be performed without utilizing the equivalent of an upper guard in such machines.

In order to facilitate removal of a sewed shoe and the presentation of an unsewed shoe at the end of a sewing operation in the machine disclosed herein, the presser foot is lifted from engagement with the shoe upper automatically in the illustrated machine in the same manner as in the machine of the Ashworth patent and at the same time the horn is moved radially of the needle path positively away from the shoe sole through connections with the presser foot. These connections comprise a set screw 58 mounted in a pin 60 extending laterally from a lever 62 into a position close to the pivoted arm of the horn carrier 46. The lever 52 is fulcrumed on a stud 64 in the machine frame and has an upwardly extending arm connected through a link 65 with a downwardly extending arm of a presser foot lever 63. During normal sewing operations, the set screw 58 is out of engagement with the horn carrier even at the time in each sewing cycle when the presser foot releases the clamping pressure on the shoe for feeding movements. At the end of a seam, however, the presser foot is automatically lifted from engagement with the shoe a 8 sufficient distance to cause the set screw 58 to force the carrier 46 below its pivot 48 rearwardly. thereby disengaging the horn above the pivot 48 from the shoe sole.

The work support member ID is moved with the awl to assist in work feed and so that the channel in the sole will be opened in advance of the point of awl operation during back feeding movements of the awl. The member I 0 is formed with a shank portion secured within a chuck 59 mounted on a movable carrier block 6|. The carrier block i arranged for oscillation in the line of feed and is connected with the awl feeding mechanism, as more fully disclosed in Patents No. 1,169,909 and No. 2,271,611 above referred to. The chuck 59 in the machine of these latter patents is arranged to receive a work channeling or grooving knife when the work so requires. By utilizing the chuck 59 to secure the work support member [0, a simple rearrangement of the machine of these patents may be made to adapt the machine for use in sewing turn shoes. Before the shank of the support member ID is secured by the chuck, the vertical position of the support member may be adjusted in the chuck to suit the operating conditions of the machine. In some instances, the support member may be formed with a cutting edge to increase the depth of the channel in the sole if needed.

To reinforce the upper along the line of the seam at a point which is subject to heavy tension during wear of the shoe, in the use of the illustrated machine, instead of employing a single locking thread, a pair of parallel locking threads are led into the seam in such a way that they will be laid against the upper and, preferably, as indicated in Fig. '7, the loops of needle thread are not tightened sufficiently to draw the locking threads beneath the outer surface of the upper. By so doing, the force of each needle thread loop in tightening a stitch is distributed along two parallel lengths of locking thread extending between the adjacent needle loops, and the parallel locking threads serve to fill out and support the upper when the shoe is turned inside out according to the usual practice in the manufacture of the turn shoe.

The locking thread supply case 22 is substantially the same as that disclosed in the patent to Ashworth except that instead of having a single thread outlet in the circular side wall of the thread case, as in the Ashworth machine, there are in the present machine a pair of outlets one of which is indicated at H3 in close proximity to each other. A pair of threads leave the outlets in parallel relation and are engaged by a tension spring 12 of a construction similar to that in the Ashworth machine, the thread being led into the seam and carried against the outer surface of the upper by successive loops of needle thread, as illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

The supplies of locking thread are contained within the thread case 22 on a pair of similar bobbins 14 and 76 rotatable upon a central split stud 18 in the thread case. If both bobbins are mounted upon the stud I8 to turn in the same direction while looking threads are being withdrawn, one bobbin will always rotate faster than the other unless the diameter of the thread supply on one bobbin is exactly the same as on the other. If. one bobbin rotates faster than the other the tension on the corresponding locking thread will be greater than on the other due to the frictional force exerted on the slower bobbin by the faster bobbin and as a result the thread may I I I become slack and entangled in the thread case and irregularities may be produced in the seam.

In order to insure uniform tension on both locking threads where two lengths are guided in parallel relation toward that portion of the seam being led against the upper of a shoe in the present machine, the bobbins i l and it are so placed within the bobbin case that they will turn in opposite directions upon withdrawal of locking thread, the frictional force between the bobbins always acting to balance the tensions between the threads without reducing it on either.

The nature and scope of the invention having been set forth and a specific embodiment of the invention having been described, what is claimed 1s:

1. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last, having a relatively thin, wedge-shaped work support to engage'a stitch receiving channel in the sole, a presser foot to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, and stitch forming devices including a curved work piercing awl arranged to enter first the channel in the sole and then to emerge from the same side of the sole, and a curved hook needle acting to enter the perforation formed in the sole by the awl, in combination with a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe and bearing against the inner surface of the sole and means acting on the horn to urge the sole throughout each sewing cycle yieldingly against the work support and toward the center of curvature of the awl and needle with a uniform pressure.

2. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel in the sole, a presser foot to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle movable about an axis concentric with the curvature of the needle, and a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe and bearing against the inner surface of the sole adjacent to the sewing point, said horn being rotatable about an axis extending substantially through the sewing point and the axis of curvature of the needle.

3. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a turn shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel in the sole, a presser foot acting against the upper at the edge of the sole to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, and stitch forming devices including a curved work piercing awl arranged to enter first the channel in the sole and then to emerge from the same side of the sole, and a curved hook needle acting to enter the perforation formed in the sole by the awl, in combination with a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe, a carrier on which the horn is mounted for relative movement, and a spring acting on the carrier to press the horn against the sole throughout each sewing cycle toward the center of curvature of the awl and needle with a uniform pressure.

4. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a turn shoe while unsupported on a last, having a main frame, a work support on the frame to engage a stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a presser foot acting against the upper at the edge of the sole, and stitch forming devices including a needle acting first to engage the upper and then to enter and emerge from the same side of the sole, in combination with a U- TOY shaped horr'i one arm of which is of greater length than the depth of the largest sized shoe from the ankle opening to the extremity of the a U-shaped horn carrier one arm of which is yieldingly connected to the machine frame and the other arm of which supports the horn for swinging movement about an axis passing through the point of engagement of the-horn with the sole, the horn supporting arm of thecarrier being of sufiicient length to provide clear-' ance space for the heel end of the largest sized shoe within the U of the carrier.

5. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last, havinga work support to engage a' stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a presser foot acting to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, and stitch forming devices including a curved needle acting first to engage the upper and then to enter and emerge from the same side of the sole, in combination with a horn extending through the ankle opening of a shoe and acting against the inner surface of the shoe sole to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and presser foot, a carrier on one end of which the horn is supported for swinging movement about an axis disposed radially of the clamp and release the shoe on the work support,

and stitch forming devices including a curved needle acting first to engage the upper and then to enter and emerge from the same side of the sole, in combination with a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe and acting against the inner surface of the shoe sole to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and the presser foot, a carrier on which the horn is mounted for swinging movement about an axis disposed radially of the needle path, and a spring acting on the carrier to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and the presser foot throughout each sewing cycle.

7. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a presser foot acting to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, and stitch forming devices including a curved needle acting first to engage the upper and then to enter and emerge from the same side of the sole, in combination with a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe and acting against the inner surface of the shoe sole to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and the presser foot, a carrier on which the horn is mounted for swinging movement about an axis disposed radially of the needle path, a spring acting on the carrier to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and'the presser foot throughout each sewing cycle, and a pivotal mounting for the horn carrier on the machine frame extending substantially parallel to the line of the seam being inserted, about which the carrier swings to enable the horn to move toward and from the sole.

8. A machine for sewing the upper to'the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a pressure foot acting to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, and stitch forming devices including a curved needle acting first to engage the upper and then to enter and emerge from the same side of the sole, in combination with a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe and acting against the inner surface of the shoe sole to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and the presser foot, a carrier on which the horn is mounted for swinging movement about an axis disposed radially of the needle path, a spring acting on the carrier to press the sole yieldingly into the space between the work support and the presser foot throughout each sewing cycle, and mechanism for actuating the carrier at the end of a seam to move the horn away from the sole of the shoe.

9. A machine for sewing an upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support member to engage a sitch receiving channel in the sole, a presser foot acting to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, stitch forming devices including a, curved work piercing awl arranged to enter first the channel in the sole in penetrating the work and to impart a feeding movement to the work, and a carrier block moving with the awl while feeding the work, in combination with a second work support member secured to the carrier block for engaging the channel in the sole in advance of the point of operation of the awl, to open the channel in the sole for the awl.

10. A machine forsewing an upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support member to engage a stitch receiving channel in the sole, a presser foot acting to clamp and release the shoe on the work support, stitch forming devices including a curved work piercing awl arranged to enter first the channel in the sole in penetrating the work and to impart a feeding movement to the work, a carrier block moving with the awl while feeding the work, and a chuck on the carrier block, in combination with a second work support member secured adjustably in said chuck for engaging the channel in the sole in advance of the point of operation of the awl to open the channel in the sole during back feeding movements of the awl.

11. A machine for sewing with a lockstitch seam the upper to the sole of a turn shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a presser foot acting against the upper at the edge of the sole, and stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle and a loop taker, in combination with a locking thread supply case constructed with a pair of outlets in a side wall thereof and arranged to guide two lengths of locking thread in parallel relation against the upper at the edge of the sole.

12. A machine for sewing with a lockstitch seam the upper to the sole of a turn shoe while unsupported on a last, having a work support to engage a stitch receiving channel formed in the sole, a presser foot acting against the upper at the edge of the sole, and stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle and a loop taker, in combination with a locking thread supply case and two rotating thread packages within the thread case from which lengths of locking thread are led, said packages being arranged to rotate in opposite directions during withdrawal of thread.

13. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle and a takeup, in combination with a locking thread supply case, a pair of reversely wound thread supply bobbins supported in said case with their adjacent end surfaces in frictional contact, and a single tension spring on the case engaging the two threads as they aredrawn from the respective bobbins.

CORWIN W. BAKER. 

